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On the exact date Donald Trump received a custom-made "award for peace" from his newest ally, FIFA president "Gianni" Infantino, his government released an equally ostentatious national security strategy. This fairly short report drips with pure Trump and Trumpism. It opens with the characteristically modest claim that the president has brought back "our nation – and the world – back from the edge of disaster and disaster."

Even though the document largely formalizes the current policies and statements of Trump and his team, it must be taken as a grave caution for the international community, and for Europe specifically.

A Strategy of Interference and Civilizational Anxiety

The document espouses an assertive form of foreign-policy interference where the US clearly sets the goal of "promoting European strength." Its language seems lifted straight from addresses by the Hungarian Prime Minister during the so-called refugee crisis of 2015-16: "Our desire is for Europe to remain European, to regain its cultural self-confidence." Even more ominously, the document claims that Europe's "financial downturn is overshadowed by the genuine and more stark possibility of civilizational erasure."

The whole section dedicated to Europe is steeped in decades of European far-right dogma and propaganda. The EU and its migration policies are blamed for "changing the continent and causing conflict, censorship of free expression and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-belief." According to the document, if "current trajectories continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less. As such, it is not at all clear whether some European countries will have economies and armed forces strong enough to be reliable allies." In fact, the Trump administration believes that "in a matter of years at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European."

"U.S. foreign policy should continue to stand up for authentic democracy, freedom of expression, and unapologetic celebrations of European nations’ unique heritage and past."

Foundational Ideas of the Right-Wing

These arguments carry strong echoes of two theories seen as foundational for contemporary right-wing circles. The first is Oswald Spengler's "Der Untergang des Abendlandes," whose argument on the cyclical decline of civilizations was used by the German far right to attack the "decadence" and "weakness" of the democratic Weimar Republic. The second is "Le Grand Remplacement," published in 2011 by French novelist Renaud Camus, who transformed long-existing "native" fears into a more overt conspiratorial narrative, alleging European elites of using immigration to substitute rebellious "native" populations and import a more submissive and reliant electorate.

It is the nationalist fever dream contained in both ideas that gives the Trump administration the right, if not the duty, to interfere in European affairs, the document suggests. And it is clear where it identifies its allies: "The United States urges its ideological partners in Europe to advance this revival of spirit, and the increasing influence of patriotic European parties in fact gives cause for great optimism."

The Goal: "Restore European Greatness"

Put simply, the US believes that it is key to its national security to "Restore European strength," and that the European far right is the sole movement that can achieve this. Consequently, its "broad policy for Europe" focuses on "cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations" – understood as the far right – and "building up the robust nations of central, eastern, and southern Europe" – specifically "nations in agreement that want to restore their past glory" – such as Hungary and Italy.

While the document remains unclear on implementation, it is obvious that a key aim is to pressure Europe to adopt a radical policy on freedom of speech, more aligned with the US model – especially regarding far-right speech – and not just on social media. Another is to normalise relations with Russia; or, as the document phrases it, to "restore strategic stability with Russia." Although the country is not directly called a future ally, the Trump administration clearly does not regard Russia as an enemy either.

An Ideological Precedent: The Monroe Doctrine

In a broader sense, the national security strategy draws its ideas less from the glorified US of the 1950s and more from the 1823 policy of 1823. Articulated by President James Monroe, this cautioned European powers not to meddle in the "Americas," which he proclaimed to be the US’s sphere of interest. The Trump administration’s policy document promises to "assert and enforce a Trump addition" to the Monroe Doctrine, which entails the US "enlisting" countries worldwide that wish to help protect US national interests.

This is entirely new – consider JD Vance’s address at the 2025 Munich Security Conference, where the vice-president unleashed an ideological attack on Europe’s democratic model. But perhaps now that it is laid out in an formal document, European leaders will finally understand that the stance is serious. And if the document is too lengthy or vague for them, it can be condensed in plain and succinct terms: the current US government holds that its national security is most enhanced by the destruction of liberal democracy in Europe. To put it bluntly, the US is not only an reluctant ally; it is a willing adversary. Now is time to act appropriately.